Right Under Your Nose
by kjeannie
Summary: The Doctor can be a bit slow on the uptake. Rose attempts to open his eyes.


**Right Under Your Nose**

Spoilers: none – tiny bit for _Rose_

Pairing: 9th Doctor/Rose

Rating: G

Category: Romance/Humour

Okay! Hi everyone!Welcome tomy very first Doctor Who fanfic but not my first fanfic in general. This is a really silly little one-shot story that assaulted me late one night. Please enjoy and feedback would absolutely make my day! ;)

"I'm in love!" Rose Tyler exclaimed loudly as she skipped into the TARDIS control room.

_CLONK!_

"Bollocks!"

Clearly she should have waited until the Doctor's head was free from the TARDIS console before she announced that little gem.

Somewhat guiltily, she peered over said console to see a tall, leather-clad man scrambling out from beneath. She noted he was rubbing his head.

"Tinkering again?" She smirked.

"No!" He pulled his hand from his head, inspecting for blood. "I'm fixing, thank you very much!"

"Right." She nodded sagely, clearly not buying a word of it.

Satisfied that his head would remain intact, the Doctor turned his attention to his blonde companion. She'd plonked herself atop the console – again – much to his annoyance.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand the vast complexities that go with maintaining such a magnificently complicated time machine. Besides, if you didn't park your bum on my console all the time I wouldn't have to keep fixing it." He wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her off to emphasise his point.

"So," he let go of her to retrieve his sonic screwdriver from the floor. "What are you on about now?"

Rose smiled sweetly from her position atop the console – again. "I'm in love!" She repeated, throwing her arms out wide.

"Funnily enough, I heard that part. What lead to this conclusion?" From the semi-distracted look on his face he was positive she was winding him up.

Rose started swinging her legs back and forth. "You don't know love 'til it's love" she declared, a little too dreamily the Doctor thought.

He screwed his face up at her cryptic response. "What?"

"You think you're in love all those other times, with all those other guys, yeah? But in the end it's all just one big lead up to when you find 'the one'."

"'The one', huh?" He muttered, trying to reach around Rose to get at something on the console. He scowled when she remained oblivious to his efforts.

"Oh yeah. All those other boyfriends were just practices. You need to experience not really being in love to know when you really are in love. And I'm in love."

The Doctor sighed and gave up on his third attempt to access the console beneath his odd-behaving companion. Instead, he folded his arms and leaned against it, fixing Rose with a feigned look of seriousness. This could be an interesting exercise. He'd go with the flow.

"Tell me then, Miss Tyler. What does this fantastically, amazingly brilliant thing called love feel like?" He gave her a cheeky grin. "Or is it something that only you overly-emotional humans can understand or feel?"

"Blimey I hope not! Cause it's the most wonderful feeling in the whole universe!"

While the Doctor smiled at her indulgently, a strange sort of wonder settled around Rose. The air around her seemed to prickle with magic. She fixed her eyes on something only she could see.

"It's like living in some sort of dream, like everything around you is alive. Food tastes better, music sounds better. I feel like I'm walking around wearing rose coloured glasses."

"Maybe you should get your eyes tested. Sound dodgy to me."

Rose didn't seem to hear him. "It's making me crazy. But in a good way, you know? I've got these butterflies in my stomach and every time I think of him these warm fuzzies just _explode_ inside. His mannerisms drive most people up the wall but I call them endearments. And they make me laugh more than I thought possible. When we're apart I count down the seconds 'til I see him again." Before the Doctor's eyes, an invisible fog lifted from around her and she turned to look at him for the first time. He was a little taken aback at the intensity behind her amber orbs.

"I'm so attracted to him my head hurts and I'm so in love with him my heart _aches_."

The Doctor cleared his throat uncomfortably. This was getting a little too domestic. He flashed her his trademark grin.

"Maybe you should get checked out. The human body is just a machine – albeit a dodgy one at that." He opened his eyes wide and put on his most innocently concerned look. "There could be something seriously wrong with you!"

Rose whacked him on the arm. "I'm bein' serious here!" She was smiling.

"Course you are!" He picked up his sonic screwdriver and walked around to the other side of the console. Rose watched him scan the controls with the blue beam for a while. She thought he'd decided the conversation was over 'til he mumbled, "Who is he then?" Clearly he thought the silence had become oppressive.

"You don't even believe me!" She protested.

He glanced up from his work long enough to say, "humour me" before lowering his head once more.

Rose hopped off the console and wandered aimlessly around the room. "Well, he's really, really smart. I'm talking like _genius_ level here."

"Uh huh."

"He's handsome – in an unconventional sorta way and really funny with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen."

"All good qualities I 'spose." He was now moving under the console, Rose could tell because his voice was slightly muffled.

"Does it matter if he's a bit juvenile?"

"It's important to embrace your inner child." He quipped. She rolled her eyes.

"I've known him for ages you know."

The Doctor's head shot up at this. This hypothetical was getting a bit too real for his liking.

"Though I swear it was love at first sight."

He frowned from his position on the floor. "We're not talking about Mickey the Idiot are we?"

Rose laughed. "I should hope not!"

The Doctor gave a relieved sigh and ducked under the console again. "So, who else did you leave behind on Earth then, my little heart-breaker?"

She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked up at the ceiling. "No one. He's not from Earth."

"And here I was thinking you were wanting to explore other worlds. Instead, you've been eyeing off other humans! What year's he from then?" He threw up a hand for her to see. "Wait! Don't tell me! He's a nice Victorian bloke huh? Full of chivalry and good breeding." He shook his head even though Rose couldn't see. "You got sucked in by all that romanticism and sexy clothes, didn't you? Try living there. Pretty hard life. All that disease and misplaced sewerage. You'd be outta there within days. Couldn't cope without your running water and electricity. Not to mention - "

"Doctor!" She jumped in before he went into full-blown lecture mode. "He's an alien."

When the Doctor's head peered around the side of the console he looked genuinely shocked. "You mean you really go for that blue tentacled look?" He raised his eyebrows and looked her up and down. "I never would have picked it."

She shook her head, laughing quietly. "Turn it up, would ya? He's humanoid all right? I have got some taste!" She looked down at her hands. They were suddenly fascinating. "Besides, if he wasn't how would we have kids? After I marry him of course."

This was enough to pull the Doctor away from the console altogether. He stood and regarded her sternly.

"Steady on here! Tell me you're joking! You're going to marry this bloke and have his kids!"

She nodded calmly. There was a lull before he exploded.

"Who the hell is this guy!" And in that one moment, the Doctor realised, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this playful yet hypothetical bantering wasn't so hypothetical after all. Rose was genuine. He started to tremble and folded his arms as much to steady himself as to hide it from Rose.

"You barely even know him!" He added.

Rose watched his outburst with barely concealed amusement. "How do you know? I told you, I've known him for ages."

The Doctor spluttered, not used to feeling out of control. He had to get a grip on this. Taking a deep breath, he fixed her with a steady gaze.

"Rose, I can only think of a handful of humanoid alien men that we've encountered during our travels. All of them you've known for as long as it takes for us to save their planet, jump into the TARDIS and leave." He threw his arms up in confusion. "Unless you've been sneaking off for secret rendezvous' with one of them when I wasn't looking – which, might I add, would be rather hard without the TARDIS – there's no chance that you could be in love with any of them."

Now Rose was getting a bit miffed. She folded her arms and glared at him. "I think I know my own heart! Besides, who are you to tell me who I can and can not be in love with?"

"I haven't even met the guy!"

Then, to the Doctor's utter astonishment, his blonde, 19 year old, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth companion, laughed. She laughed so hard she was clutching her stomach and tears were starting to seep from the corners of her eyes.

The Doctor was doing anything but laughing. "I'm glad you find this all so amusing." He griped. He walked back to the console with a purpose. "What planet is he from?"

"Why?"

"Cause we're going to pay him a little visit."

"Why?" Rose asked again.

He gave an isn't-it-obvious look. "I have to screen him, don't I? Make sure he's good enough. I'm not going to part with you for just anyone you know." Despite having said this he'd already decided that none of them would be good enough. But it still wouldn't stop her from leaving. He looked at Rose to see her giving him an affectionate smile. She shook her head.

"You can't."

"I think I can!" He said, affronted. "Come on then, let's have it. Where's that fiancé of yours live?" His hands were poised over the controls, a tense look on his face. "Or do you want to phone first so he can be ready with the tea and crumpets?" He added snidely.

Rose took a step closer to him and the Doctor swallowed thickly.

"I told you, you can't go there. And he's not my fiancé."

"Not home, huh? Different address then?" He hadn't moved an inch from the controls.

"He doesn't have an address." She took another step closer. "He doesn't have a planet."

The Doctor blinked at this. "Bit of a nomad then?"

Rose shrugged and sidled closer. "You might say that."

She let out a sigh and a little giggle escaped. "Do you know what this reminds me of? The first time we met."

The Doctor shook his head, confused.

"The Millennium Wheel." She reminded him.

He frowned. "What about it and what does this - "

She didn't wait for him to finish. "I've lost count of how many times you looked straight at that wheel and just could not see if for looking."

The Doctor dropped his hands to his sides and turned to her. "Rose, what - "

"It was staring you right in the face. Lit up with bright lights. Slap bang right in front of you." She continued to walk until she was mere inches away from him and stopped. She picked up his hand and started idly playing with his fingers.

"You know, for a Time Lord, a genius, you can be pretty daft." She laughed gently. She clasped his hand more firmly in her own and interlocked their fingers. A perfect fit. She looked up into his eyes. Held them and whispered, "You just can't see what's standing at your own front door step."

The Doctor looked down at their intertwined hands, deep in thought. Rose watched his expressive eyes calmly as ideas were raised and rejected. Then, "Hang about!" He dropped her hand and took a giant step back, as though stung. His eyes darted across her face, desperately.

"He's handsome, intelligent, funny yet juvenile with a great smile. He's alien but humanoid. You've known him for ages but it was love at first sight." He paused, Rose stopped breathing.

"And we can't visit his planet because it doesn't exist anymore."

The smile Rose graced him with was blinding.

"It's me, isn't it?" He gasped. "You're in love with me."

She nodded imperceptibly.

Before either of them knew what they were doing they'd closed the gap between them. The Doctor took a moment to look her in the eyes before lowering his lips to claim hers. It was a gentle, slow exploration of each other's mouths. The only sound in the room was soft moans coming from both of them. When the Doctor softly sucked and nibbled on Rose's lower lip she thought her knees would buckle and give way. When their tongues finally joined to taste one another, they did. Without leaving her lips the Doctor wrapped a strong arm around her waist and held her up, his other hand burrowing into her hair and holding her face to his. Rose sighed in bliss and hooked her arms around his neck, pulling him flush against her. They only broke apart when they needed air.

Smiling softly, the Doctor cupped Rose's face in his hands and tenderly stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I'm in love." He whispered.

Rose's stomach exploded with those warm fuzzies. "I'm very glad to hear it." She murmured before claiming his lips once more.

It didn't last very long. The Doctor pulled away, a terrifying thought suddenly occurring to him.

"Wait a minute!" He exclaimed, "Marriage and kids!"

Rose just laughed.

End.


End file.
